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Joe Rocket Phoenix Gloves

I posted about these gloves in the Gear Forum, and Hotfix suggested I write a review. I altered the text a bit from the original post to make it more of an article.

I started riding a little over two years ago in February of '03. The weather here was cold to cool, so my leather gloves were comfortable. Houston experiences oppressive heat, so once summer hit, I realized I needed another pair of gloves.

I'm a huge fan of Joe Rocket. I have the Phoenix jacket and pants, and I have one of their tank bags. I'd read some rousing testimonials about these products, so I trusted them. Still do. Two summers ago, when I needed summer gloves, I decided to stick with the JR Phoenix reputation. I went to my nearest dealership and found Joe Rocket Phoenex gloves and bought a pair. The gloves are very comfortable, and after I rode a mere half block, I could feel the difference and loved them. I now believe that, while the gloves are comfortable, they will not protect your hands at all.

Since buying the Phoenix gloves , I've read one or two accounts where the gloves simply didn't hold up in a crash situation. At first I thought maybe these were exceptions, but during my ride this last Saturday, I'm inclined to believe it. No, I didn't go down. However, I noticed that the side of the index finger was nearly worn through. I could see my finger through the threads remaining at the spot of wear.

The Phoenix gloves are mesh on the backs of the hands and fingers, with carbon over the knuckles. The sides and palm sides of the fingers are constructed of fairly thin suede, and the palms have that same grade of suede, reinforced with another layer of the same. This does make them comfortable, but I did wonder how well that thin suede would hold up in a crash, as I've had suede jackets that seemed thicker. The point of the worn area is strange, as that part of the glove doesn't come in contact with anything. It's on my right hand, which rarely, if ever, leaves the throttle grip. Nothing touches that part of the glove. Or so I thought. After we mounted up, I realized that the very tip of the glove of my right thumb (not my thumb itself, just the tip of that part of the glove -- I have short fingers and that happens on some gloves). The vibration from the engine and the road causes those suede parts to rub against each other at the point of wear. So here's the big question, if a glove can't provide protection against itself, how can it protect my hands against concrete or asphalt??

There are a couple of caveats to this review.

Caveats

My gloves are a couple of years old. However, the first time I rode in the rain, the suede felt very flimsy. In addition, I only have 4700 miles on my bike total, so I've put even fewer miles on the gloves, and I'm really not hard on my equipment or my gear.

I've seen the latest design of Phoenix gloves, and they appear to have added leather to the palms and fingers, so this review could be moot. Therefore, take this information how you will, but be discriminating when shopping.

If you're still leaning toward purchasing a pair of Joe Rocket Phoenix gloves, I would heartily suggest buying or shopping for the Phoenix gloves in person, rather than online, to examine their quality.